Development of medical care technology. The case of Israel

This article presents a survey of the public and private agencies and institutions providing health care in Israel and examines the degree and nature of the control that these bodies exercise over medical technology. The author demonstrates that while the Israeli government is highly centralized, the Ministry of Health is able to exercise only limited practical influence and is neutralized because of its circumscribed control of government funds. In addition, the Ministry of Health lacks standardized procedures for the assessment of prospective or existing technologies. The author notes that there has been a clear move toward a system to oversee the rational diffusion of technology and outlines several proposals for the future.